Shadows in the Light
by MyDarkHeart
Summary: You know how sometimes when someone tries to help someone else, it ends up blowing up in their face. Well imagine that happenning to me max ecept 10 times worse... my first fanfic so go easy! R&R plz!
1. Chapter 1

"Maaaaaax!! I'm hungry!!"

Of course you are, Nudge. I thought to myself. "Alright guys. Time to get some chow!" There were cheers and whoops from the various members of my flock. Well, except Fang, who's determined to keep up his Mr. Emotionless rep. Right now, we- "we" being me (Max), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman (or Gazzy), and my baby, Angel- were flying over Southern California to see my mom in Arizona. My day was going surprisingly ok, but I was still alert, because my good days usually end horrible and I would really like to break that streak. But apparently today was not that day, because right then and there did the Voice decide to ruin my day.

_Hello, Maximum._

Aww, come on! Why do you keep showing up in my already messed up, dysfunctional world?

_Now, now, Max. I'm here to help you. You should have figured that out by now. And I am here to help you again._

I don't need your help. I've gone the first 12 years of my life without you, and as soon as I figure out how, I'm going to go the rest of my life without you!

_Whatever you say, Maximum. Now, you need to get to Los Angles as soon as possible. There is someone you and your flock must meet._

Who? And of course, I got no answer. I shook my head as I came back to reality, and noticed 5 pairs of eyes staring at me. Hmmm, I wonder how long that little convo with the Voice was…

**About 15 minutes, Max.**

Really, wow. The voice really knows how to keep a girl talking.

Angel giggled, and I realized she was listening to my thoughts.

How many times do I have to tell you this, Angel? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!

**Sorry Max!**

The flock was still staring at me like I had two heads. "Don't worry guys. Just keeping up a very annoying talk with an even more annoying Voice in my head." And with that, they went back to what they were doing, Iggy and Gazzy were leaning over something, more than likely a bomb of some sort, Angel and Nudge were arguing about the newest fashion and trend, and Fang was just staring out in front of him, silent as always. "Hey guys! We are heading out to Los Angles to buy us some grub!" that's when I realized, I didn't even _who _we were searching for.

Hey, Voice? Who exactly are we supposed to be looking for and why?

_I thought you'd never ask, Max. Her name is Shadow. She is an avian-human hybrid, like you and your flock. The School has been after her for a while, and she is in dire need of your help, although she may not admit it._

Alright, that answers my first question, but how am I supposed to know what she looks like! As soon as I thought those words, I instantly regretted them, because the Voice decided to give me a brain attack as I like to call them. I felt like someone was driving a huge, rusty, iron stake through my brain. My wings snapped shut and I screamed like there was no tomorrow. As I free fell from the sky, I could see images of a girl about my age, with long black hair and tanned skin. She looked vaguely familiar, like I've seen her before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I guessed she was the girl we had to go to because she also had jet black wings. Then all of a sudden, I saw a whole bunch of documents and codes flash before my eyes, and then that was it. Everything went dark.

I was standing in the middle of a huge factory that was fully equipped with the latest in machine technology (Not that I would know. Just taking a random guess here). I knew I must have been dreaming because there was no way I was back at the school. And also the fact that somewhere in the back of my mind a little voice (no not the Voice) was telling me that I was still unconscious from that brain attack that the Voice had so kindly given me. Although for a dream, everything was so life-like and sharp. I noticed a figure out in front of me sitting cross- legged on the floor. I started walking towards it, and as I drew nearer, I saw that it was the figure of a girl. Once I got about a foot away from her, she looked up at me and said, "Hello, Max. I've been waiting for you for a _very_ long time."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"You mean you don't know. I would have thought that you would know the person who gave you those wings." She said getting up. She was about a head shorter than me and gave me the impression that she was not to be messed with, but when have those impressions made any difference to me?

"So, you're the director. I thought I scared you off in Germany."

"Oh no Maximum. I am much more than that measly director. I am the woman who created the school, who created Itex itself. I am the Lieutenant."

"So _Lieutenant,_ what do you want with me?_"_

"Oh nothing, really. I just want to make you a deal."

"What kind of a deal?" I asked, suspicious.

"A deal that will determine the life or death of your flock. See all I want you to do is help me capture the girl that your _Voice_ so happened to tell you about."

"Shadow?"  
"Precisely".

"What do you want with her?"

"Oh, there is so much that I want from her, but I will have to settle for one thing, her life." Things were starting to get a little hazy and I guess the Lieutenant noticed too because she started to panic.

"Quick Maximum, before the connection is lost! Will you help me, in return for your flocks freedom and life?" By now, I could hear my name repeatedly by voices from a distance. My body had started to sway and my eyes had begun to flutter, and before I could answer, the ground had rushed up to meet my face, and I lost "consciousness" again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Previously:_

"_Quick Maximum, before the connection is lost! Will you help me, in return for your flocks freedom and life?" By now, I could hear my name repeatedly by voices from a distance. My body had started to sway and my eyes had begun to flutter, and before I could answer, the ground had rushed up to meet my face, and I lost "consciousness" again._

"Max? Max?" a voice whispered from far away."Wake up Max. Please, Wake up!" The voice sounded so familiar and I wanted to just open my eyes and find out who was calling my name so desperately, but I couldn't. I felt like a huge hand was pressing down on me adding to the pain and soreness I already felt. I didn't know how long I was in this state or how long that voice was calling me, but all I knew was that I needed to get up, like now. Come on, Max, get up. I told myself, and slowly, I began to regain consciousness. My eyes fluttered open and the first thing I saw was the damp, dark ceiling of a cave. I wanted so desperately to get up, but when I tried, streaks of pain ran up and down my body, and tears sprung up in my eyes. All right, let's not do that. I resorted to just turning my head, and even that made me whimper a bit. I scanned the cave looking for some telltale sign that the flock was or had been here, and sure enough there they were sleeping in various places. Angel and Nudge were sleeping back to back by the wall in front of me; Gazzy was sleeping to my left with his arms and legs all over the place, mumbling something about sweet pickles and stopping the purple dwarves with his elfish ninjas. Iggy was sleeping near the mouth of the cave, giving the occasional twitch, with his mouth wide open. I was looking around for Fang, when I spotted a black figure flying outside the cave, and I figured Fang must have gone for a late night flight. I was suddenly getting very tired but I couldn't sleep because of the pain, so I just settled with listening to the flocks breathing. I closed my eyes and waited, listening to the sounds around me. About 15 minutes later, my attempts to sleep were still not working and Fang had still not come in. I opened my eyes and looked out again to the mouth of the cave. Fang was heading towards the mouth of the cave and I guessed it was Iggys turn for watch. I closed my eyes again and wondered how long it would take for Fang to realize I was awake. When Fang touched down, I evened out my breathing, and relaxed my whole body. I thought Fang was going to go wake Iggy, but from what it sounded like he was heading straight towards me. Well, that just ruined my brilliant plan. I decided to just get this over with and let Fang know I was awake. I opened my eyes (wow, I think I have an eye twitch or something. All I've been doing was opening and closing my eyes…), and whispered, "Fang?" My voice sounded hoarse from misuse. Fang was sitting a few feet away from me, and I was worried he didn't hear me, but apparently he did because his head shot towards me and he got up. He was by my side in about 2 milliseconds.

"Max! Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But what happened?"

His eyes hardened and I thought he wasn't going to answer, even though I would have probably pounded the answer out of him, but he said, "You fell straight from the sky, screaming. I didn't get to you in time, you were falling so fast. And then you hit the ground, and you just went silent. I thought you were dead. We all did. There was no way you survived a 50,000 foot fall, but when we landed, I checked your pulse and you were still alive. Iggy checked your injuries and he said that you didn't have any broken bones but you were bruised up pretty badly and a nasty cut on your forehead. You won't be able to move for a couple days."

"Well, that explains the soreness and the bandage. How long was I out?"

"2 days."

I stared at him."That long?"

"Yeah." He whispered.

"How's the flock?" I asked, fingering the bandage on my forehead.

"They're fine. Considering all we've been doing is sitting and waiting for you to wake up." He went silent after that, and I did too. I processed what he told me. TWO DAYS! It only felt like a couple hours! I hadn't realized how hungry I was until my stomach felt like it was digesting itself. "Is there anything to eat? I'm starving." A corner of his mouth twitched, Fangs version of a laugh. He came back with a couple granola bars and handed them to me. I tore one open and devoured it.

"Someone's hungry." He teased.

"You would be too if you hadn't eaten in two days."  
He smirked and then his face was serious again. "Max? Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." I said with my mouth full.

"What did you dream about, while you were unconscious?" I swallowed hard. That struck me as odd. Why would he want to know that?

"May I ask why you want to know?"

"Well you were muttering some things in your sleep." I froze.

"What kind of things?"

"Well, you really only kept saying 'What do you want with her?' and 'What's in it for me?'" he looked at me puzzled.

"That's something for me to tell the whole flock together." He nodded and said, "Get some rest Max."My eyelids had begun to feel really heavy, and I didn't fight them. Soon, I was deep asleep, dreaming about flying through the skies without a care in the world, surrounded by my family.  
*************************************************************************************

I woke up again 3 hours later and this time the entire flock was awake and already packing up. Nobody had noticed me wake up so I decided to, well to put it lightly, scare them. I put up my mind blocks and took a deep breath. My body wasn't as sore as when I first woke up, so I could at least sit up against the cave wall. Once I was up, I tried to stand. My legs were numb and felt detached from my body, but I managed to do it. I took a shaky step towards Nudge, who was nearest to me. Her back was turned to me and she was leaning over her backpack. Hehe. My first victim. I was right behind her now and I leaned in and yelled in her ear, "HEY NUDGE!!!!" She screamed bloody murder and fell forward on top of her bag. The entire flock was staring at me in shock, while I was laughing hysterically. What? A girl needs a good laugh once in a while. I was still laughing when Nudge realized it was me. She seemed to forget that I had nearly made her pee her pants because she said, well squealed, "MAX! YOU'RE AWAKE!!!" and she tackled me into a hug, making me fall onto my back with her on top of me, which by the way hurt like heck, but I wasn't about to tell her that. The flock had rushed over to us and Angel and Gazzy joined in on the hug fest.

"Max!!! You're up!!!"

"Max! We were so worried!"

"Oh my gosh, Max! You scared me soooo bad! But you're up and we were so worried and scared especially Fang. He practically had a mental break down when he saw you on the ground. And how did you get up! Iggy said you wouldn't be able to move for a while and we'd have to stay in this cave for a loooooong time. But I didn't want to because there are bats in here and I don- mmgrph!"

"Nudge! Nudge! Stop! Our ears are bleeding!" Thank you Iggy.

I chuckled. "Take it easy Nudge. I'm Fine." Iggy wasn't convinced though, so he helped me sit back down. I was looking around the cave because I noticed we were one flock member short. "Guys, where's Fang?"

"He went to get some breakfast from a McDonalds in the town near here," Gazzy answered.

"Ok but where exactly is here?" I asked.

"I think we're in Los Angles," Iggy said. All right, well that makes finding this Shadow person easier.

I decided to ask the Voice _where_ she was. Hey, Voice. Where is this girl anyway? Oh and by the way, thanks for the brain attack. (Note the heavy sarcasm)

_Hello, Maximum. I am glad to see you up and about. I will tell you the location once you get up into the sky. _

Why can't you just tell me now?  And of course, I got no answer from Mr. /Mrs. Confucius him/her/itself.

"So, Max," Iggy said. "What happened anyway?"

"Brain attack, courtesy of the Voice." I said bluntly.

"Oh, it just seemed like something worse, because you've never been out as long as you were this time. And you kept muttering things while you were unconscious." Nudge said.

"Oh. That reminds me, once Fang gets back, there's something I have to tell you. But on the bright side, I think we are going to stay here a while even after I heal up. We might even go to a motel." That brightened them up. No more awkwardness. "So what's been going on while I was knocked out?"

"Nothing, really. The usual staying alert and worried because our leader was knocked out for 2 days." Iggy said with a shrug. And with that, they all sat around me, waiting for Fang to come back with our breakfast. I wanted to tell them about Shadow but I didn't want to keep repeating myself, so I decided to wait until Fang arrived. The flock was just talking in mini, sub conversations, Iggy and Gazzy were probably talking about the latest bomb they were building. I would come down harder on them but those bombs have saved my life too many times to count. Angel and Nudge were talking about some random fashion thingy. It's weird how much those girls love fashion, well to me it is. I didn't really know what to say to either pair, because frankly, I know nothing about bombs or fashion. I just laid my head back against the cave wall and closed my eyes, listening to their quiet conversations. About 10 minutes later, I was almost asleep and Fang had arrived with our delicious breakfast. The flock went running to get their food and sat back in their original places tearing through their food. I was too tired to get up and get my food, so I opened my eyes and told Fang to hand over the goods. He smirked and gave them to me. I sank my teeth into my burger, but something tasted off. I didn't think anything of it though, because I was just too hungry to care. I finished it and started eating the fries, but they tasted horrible, so horrible that I started to gag.

"Max? Are you ok?" Fang asked worried. I couldn't answer though because I felt like my stomach was tearing itself apart. I gagged again and spewed chunks all over the place. "Max!" The pain was unbearable, and I started to sink into unconsciousness once again. I felt Fang carry me bridal style as he told the flock to get up. Then nothing. Again.

I was in the factory again, but this time I was laying face down on the floor. My head felt like someone was smacking it with a sledgehammer. I managed to get onto my hands and knees and I raised my head. The Lieutenant was sitting cross-legged in front of me, with her head resting in her hands. "Ah, you're awake. Good." She said without looking up. "Now we can finish our conversation from before. So, what do you say? Will you help me?"

"Why do I need to help you? You have a whole army of Erasers and Flyboys. I'm just one person." I said shakily.

"Ah, see, I don't want to make a big deal out of all this. What I have against Shadow is personal and you should know that scientists are not supposed to have personal grudges or ties against one experiment." She said looking up now. I thought for a bit. If I help her, the flock will be free and we won't not have to worry about Erasers and Flyboys anymore, but then I'll be considered a traitor, because I turned against a fellow experiment. After a little bit of silence I made my decision. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to help you."

"What a pity," she said. She got up, turned around, and started walking away. She paused, "But let me tell you this, when I send army after army of Erasers to hunt and kill your flock, it'll all be your fault for not protecting them the only way you could've." And with that, she disappeared. I stared ahead with eyes wide open. No, Max. You did the right thing. I assured myself, but I still felt uneasy. Now, how am I supposed to get out of here?

"I can help with that!" A voice came from behind the machinery. I stood up, looked around, ready, and alert.

"Who's there?" I called out. Giggling erupted from behind me. I spun around and saw a little girl about Angel's age, giggling and laughing.

"It's me!" she laughed. "My name's Samira. What's yours?"

"Um, Max"

"I like that name! It's pretty!" I was so confused by now that I couldn't say anything. Samira looked like the girl I saw during my brain attack except much younger. My thoughts were all mixed up and buzzing around in my head like bees.

"Um, Samira? Are you an experiment?" she nodded and a pair of jet-black wings with stray black feathers appeared from her back.

"Are you?" I nodded and slowly shook out my wings. She started clapping and grinning like a fool.

"Your wings are pretty! Just like Big Sissy's wings!"

"You have a sister? Can I talk to her?"

"Hold on, I'll call her." She turned around and started to run towards a room that I had not noticed was there.

"Big Sissy, there's someone here to see you! Her name is Max!" she yelled.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" a voice called from inside the room. The door opened and out stepped the girl from my vision. She walked straight up to me and held out her hand. I shook it and let my hand fall quickly by my side. She laughed at that. "Don't worry, me and you are fighting the same thing." She said, sensing my tension. "So, what brings you to my humble factory?"

"Well, I'm not really sure. All I know is that I woke up here, and I don't know if this is a dream or not."

"Well this isn't a dream; I know that, because if it was then life would be so much better than it is now, right Samira?" Samira nodded.

"But then what is it?" I asked. "One minute I was eating a double quarter pounder from McDonalds and then I wake up here."

Samira and Shadow glanced at each other, some kind of silent conversation going on between them. Hmm, like Fang and me. Then something clicked. I needed to get back to the flock!

"Don't worry, Max! We'll help you get back to your flock!" Samira assured me. Then I realized that she knew what I was thinking.

"How did you know that I wanted to get back to my flock?"  
"I can read minds! We both can!" she said pointing to Shadow.

"Yeah, except I don't go sifting through peoples thoughts. What did I tell you about doing that Sammie?"

"To not to." Samira said, looking guiltily at her feet.

"Exactly." I felt bad about getting her in trouble, so I said to Shadow, "Don't worry about it. I have a little mind reader about her age too. It's been really nice meeting you all but I'd really like to get back to my family now."

"Ok, Samira, do your thing." Unexpectedly, Samira ran behind me and jumped on my back. I tensed up and was about to throw her off, until she placed her small, warm palms against my temples. I instantly relaxed, I don't know why, but I felt like I was safe with Shadow and Samira. The next thing I know, everything was going blurry and the pain in my head returned (although I had not realized that it went away).

"Don't worry, Max you'll get used to it soon. And we'll be seeing more of each other in person soon! Can we Sissy?"

"Yeah, Sammie. But that's if Max can find us again."

That was the last thing I heard before my mind went blank and I fell to the floor, but I never hit it. I felt like I had sunk straight through the ground and was now free falling. I tried to open my wings but they were not responding. It lasted only a couple seconds and then I was in Fangs arms screeching through the sky. What's happening to me?!

_You have a new power Max._

Oh, joy.


End file.
